Festival season is back in full force in northwestern Nevada.

The Reno River Festival is downtown this weekend, and so are the Biggest Little Skate Jam and the Legion Sports Fest. Carson City has a rib festival and a beer festival, Fallon is hosting a chalk art festival, and Truckee’s pride festival kicks off this Friday.

And then there’s the jam-packed show schedule, with a Broadway tour visit by “Shucked” and appearances by Alabama Shakes, Colt Ford, Yellowcard, Brian Kilmeade and Kyle Gass Company.

In all, there are a whopping 46 unique events this week in the region. Here’s a look at the events, concerts and weather for the week of May 25-31, 2026.

Memorial Day events in Northern Nevada

Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Day Ceremony, May 25: The Nevada Department of Veterans Services and the Nevada Veterans Coalition will hold a ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 14 Veterans Way in Fernley. Volunteers are being sought to place flags at 8:30 a.m. on May 23. For details, visit veterans.nv.gov.

South Lake Tahoe American Legion Memorial Day Ceremony, May 25: American Legion Post 795 will conduct a Memorial Day observance from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday. It’s also seeking volunteers for flag placement on Friday and flag removal on Tuesday. It’s at 2748 Young St. in South Lake Tahoe, California. For details, visit visitlaketahoe.com.

Memorial Day | Remember and Honor, May 25: Scout Troop 266 hosts this observance from 5 to 6 p.m. at Trails End Cemetery, 520 Fairway Drive in Tahoe City, California. For details, visit tahoeeventscalendar.com.

Reno-Tahoe events, May 25-31

Rockin’ Ribfest, May 25: Start your summer with a plateful of ribs, and check out the arts and crafts vendors, live music, beer garden and more. It’s happening from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Casino Fandango, 3800 S. Carson St. in Carson City. For details, visit casinofandango.com.

“Last Lists of My Mad Mother,” May 25: Dot’s the primary caregiver for Ma, who’s battling Alzheimer’s, while Sis chimes in from afar. This theatrical work wraps up Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Restless Artists Theatre, 295 20th St. in Sparks. For details and tickets, visit rattheatre.com.

Reno Aces vs. Sacramento River Cats, May 26-31: Reno’s Minor League Baseball team hosts the top affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in a six-game set. Highlights include Princess Night and postgame fireworks on Friday, Harry Potter Night on Saturday and $1.50 hot dogs on Sunday. Games are at Greater Nevada Field, 250 Evans Ave. For details and tickets, visit renoaces.com.

Cirque Alice, May 26-31: The spring/summer variety show for the Eldorado combines acrobatics, dance and music for a retelling of “Alice in Wonderland.” Performances start at 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at the Showroom, Eldorado Resort Casino, 345 N. Virginia St. Tickets are $25-$75. Details at caesars.com/silver-legacy-reno.

“Shucked,” May 26-31: The Tony Award-winning musical comedy about a farming community grappling with a crop failure will pay a six-day, eight-performance visit to the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, 100 S. Virginia St. For details, visit pioneercenter.com.

P.U.N.K. Poetry Slam, May 26: Good Luck Macbeth hosts this monthly poetry slam event, presented by Poetry Under No King. It starts at 7 p.m. at 124 W. Taylor St. For details and tickets, visit renolittletheater.org.

“The Lark,” May 27-31: This dramatization of the life of Joan of Arc wraps up this week at Brüka Theatre with five performances — 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. It’s at 99 N. Virginia St. For details and tickets, visit bruka.org.

Truckee Pride Week, May 29-June 7: A week-plus of events begins Friday night, with this weekend’s events including fashion making, a hike through Shirley Canyon and a 5K fun run. For the full schedule and details, visit truckeepride.org.

Reno River Festival, May 29-31: Both local and national artists of varied genres are part of this festival every year. Headliners include two national alternative rock bands: The Calling on Friday and Everclear on Saturday. It takes place at 1 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at Idlewild Park, 2055 Idlewild Drive. Passes range from $20 for all three days to $200 for a VIP three-day pass. Details at renoriverfestival.com.

“Sweat,” May 29-31: It’s the debut weekend for this Pulitzer Prize-winning play about friends and co-workers facing factory layoffs and picket lines. It’s happening at Reno Little Theater, 147 E. Pueblo St. For details and tickets, visit renolittletheater.org.

Reno-Tahoe Odyssey, May 29-30: Running teams will tackle a 178-mile loop from downtown Reno, through Truckee, around the west shore of Lake Tahoe, through Carson City and Virginia City during this round-the-clock footrace. For details, visit renotahoeodyssey.com.

Fallon Chalk Festival, May 29-30: Fallon’s inaugural chalk festival is set for this weekend, with activities including a Sunday color run, face painting, poetry and literary activities — and, of course, chalk art along Maine Street. For details and locations, visit fallonchalkfest.com.

I confess I broke the cardinal rule of planting. I admit I fell for it. The weather was so beautiful, I not only bought marigolds and one tomato plant, along with some perennials, I planted them before Washoe Valley’s safe planting date for non-hardy veggies and plants of June 1.

Worry not, my fellow gardeners, I was immediately punished. Not one but two freezes came two days after planting.

The perennials are all fine. Amazingly enough, the marigolds made it. However, the tomato is a goner. I know better, but I got caught up in the excitement of warm weather and planting possibilities. 

My friend Kate asked me about pruning some overgrown roses now. She wanted to prune them back almost to the ground. I advised her that radical pruning is rarely the best option. A better plan is to remove a third of the excess growth, any crossing branches, any unsafe one that might poke you in the eye, and any dead growth.

Since roses are prone to many diseases, always disinfect pruning tools between cuts. I use rubbing alcohol, because it doesn’t rust tools. I just put it in a spray bottle and carry it with me bush to bush. Some people use bleach, which does cause rust. Sharp tools are best for pruning roses. Follow up on each cut by sealing it with white or wood glue. This will prevent borers from getting in the stem and killing it down to the crown. “A little dab will do ya!”

During my unwise plant shopping spree, I discovered that fertilizer is now extraordinarily expensive. I was shocked. I guess the Iran war and oil crisis is hitting home in more ways than just gas for cars or diesel for trucks. Yikes!

I am enjoying the multitudes of birds that live on or near our property. There is a robin nesting in a viburnum under our bedroom window. I watch her surreptitiously and I’m hoping there will be babies soon.

The Western bluebirds are prolific, skimming through the air grabbing all the bugs stirred up from our weed-whacking and mowing. They and the robins take enthusiastic and entertaining baths in the bird bath every day. I have a number of hyperactive, black-chinned hummingbirds at our two feeders. Who knew how assertive hummers could be, guarding their territory? I also didn’t realize that house finches would drink regularly at the hummingbird feeders. 

I love spring!

— JoAnne Skelly is an Associate Professor and Extension Educator, Emerita, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at skellyj@unr.edu.

Related

Welcome to the early voting blog!

This biennial tradition to track Nevada ballot patterns begins today as voters flock to the polls — well, perhaps not flock in very large numbers because it is a primary in a midterm with not a lot to excite regular folks. (If you have any questions or corrections, criticisms or kudos, feel free to email me at [email protected]. I’m here for you.)

I will try to update this blog at least once daily, and perhaps more as events warrant. A cautionary note: This is not like a general election where I can tell with some accuracy what the partisan turnout patterns mean, sometimes even being able to declare races over before Election Day because so many Nevadans cast votes early, either in person or by mail. That will not be the case in a primary, where the most significant data point I will be watching is total turnout. The lower it is, the more likely strange stuff will happen and the base-worthy contenders will have a better chance.

For context, statewide primary turnout in 2024 was 19 percent while in 2022 it was 26 percent. Turnout also is dependent on whether there are high-profile races at the top of the ballot, and there really aren’t any, especially because there is no Senate race this cycle in Nevada.

In the governor’s race, the Democratic primary between Attorney General Aaron Ford and she-who-will-not-be-named-by-Ford (Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill, for the record) has not attracted much attention at all because Ford has not spent any money and Hill doesn’t have much. Gov. Joe Lombardo and his allies have done their best to boost Ford’s name ID with all the noise about the AG’s global peregrinations.

It is hard to believe that the feisty and expensive Democratic AG primary will drive up turnout statewide that much from what it has traditionally been, although some local races may have a slight impact. One thing to watch is turnout in Washoe County, which could be higher than usual because of the 2nd Congressional District primary and the Reno’s mayoral race. If it is really high, could that give Hill a chance for an upset? Probably not, but worth keeping an eye on it.

With the assistance of my new best friend, whose name is Claude, I have assembled historical turnout patterns and some projections for this year. You can see from this chart just how low Clark’s turnout is compared to other counties, with Washoe a little higher and the rurals significantly above both urban counties (“M” is midterm, “Pres” is presidential year).

I have used these past totals to help project what 2026 will show, and my best guess (subject to change as votes are cast) is that between 150,000 and 180,000 ballots will be cast on each partisan side. (I am not that interested in nonpartisan turnout except to see just how low it is, despite the explosion in indie registration.) I think the Republican turnout will be slightly higher than Dems. But if not, I wouldn’t extrapolate too much to the general election, which is a completely different animal. (That won’t stop partisans from boasting about their sides’ turnout and victory margins, but it’s best to either ignore or mock those releases.)

Some other facts to remember:

— Sixty-three percent of the Republican voters are in Clark while 78 percent of Democratic voters are in the South.

— Mail turnout was 65 percent of the primary total in 2024, up from 57 percent in 2022. You can use this secretary of state link to track mail turnout, which shows 27,000 ballots already have been returned, or about 1 percent of active voters.

— The first and last days of early voting are usually the highest. We will know something from today’s turnout what the trend is likely to be.

That’s all for now. What interests you? What am I missing? Just ping me at [email protected].